Auto Parts Asia — February 2018

50 | AutoPartsAsia | FEBRUARY 2018

FOCUS

About the shift in the aftermarket from

paper standard to electronic standards,

he said, “One of the best examples of

this is PatoneLIVE and the impact it has

on the print packaging market. We see

the same technology wave coming to

other markets with a similar goal-clear

communication of digital colour to

everyone in the product supply chain.”

Dlugos said with TAC and the flexibility

of AxF designers, “we can now in

real-time swap our materials in critical

design phases to broaden choice and

drive smart decisions without having

to revert to a very costly prototype

process.”

Virtual Light Booth

Part of the TAC ecosystem, Virtual Light

Booth (VLB) allows designers, material

suppliers and marketers to visualise

accurately and efficiently, and compare

3D digital material renderings. These

renderings are presented along with

physical samples in an environment

that controls all parameters influencing

the perception of appearance. This

ensures a new level of consistency

between digital prototypes and final

physical products.

“VLB presents virtual materials with

a very high degree of realism and

accuracy. This enables users to

evaluate digitised materials rendered

on virtual objects in direct comparison

to physical material samples. It is a

fully immersive experience using

face tracking and other auto

stereoscopic technologies – a

real 3D experience that does

not require special glasses. The

Virtual Light Booth provides

diffuse and spot light sources

that enable accurate visual

assessment, in a well-defined

and standardised visual

observation environment, even

for highly complex materials

such as special-effects paints

and coatings whose colour and

appearance change based on

the angle at which they are being

observed,” Dlugos said.

MA-T Family

The new MA-T family of portable

multi-angle spectrophotometers

includes the MA-T12, a 12-angle

device, and the MA-T6, a six-

angle device. These devices are

the first instruments to combine

colour imaging and multi-angle

spectral measurement to quantify

colour, sparkle and coarseness. The

new devices allow customers to define

and control more precisely the extreme

effect finishes now commonly used

in the automotive industry to reduce

defects and achieve more efficient

quality assurance.

The combination of a colour camera

and up to 12 angles of measurement

provided in the MA-T family gives

manufacturers and their supply

chain partners an entirely new level

of sophistication in the definition and

measurement of effect finishes that

include aluminums, pearls or special

effect pigments like Xirallics. For

many effect finishes, measurement

of colour alone is no longer sufficient

to characterise completely these

materials, or to ensure consistency

across adjacent parts, such as car

bumpers and body panels. The MA-T

family delivers results that more closely

approximate the way the human

eye perceives colour. This helps

manufacturers set, communicate,

and ensure conformance with

global standards for effect finishes

• encompassing color, sparkle and
  coarseness – to achieve a new level of
  consistency and harmony.

The Indian Market

“India is a developing nation with huge

potential where the manufacturers

are striving to achieve global quality

standards. We have witnessed growing

demand for colour management

solutions, especially in the automotive

sector. X-Rite plans to capitalise on the

growing Indian car pac through global

strategic account management, direct

and indirect market promotions, and

internally with each auto manufacturer.

There are plans to invest in a network

of live road shows to showcase

the full extent of X-Rite’s colour and

appearance technology,” Dlugos said.

“At AGS, it is our endeavour to

bring world- class products to India.

X-Rite is a global leader and with

these innovative products we are

helping diverse industries take the

technological leap of automation for

better results. The new technology

applied in both the machines deliver

projections that are almost the way

a human eye perceives colour and

texture. Exquisite features like these

will enable manufacturers to ensure

quality control, reduce re-work while

accelerating time-to-market,”Gupte

said.

AGS has over 60,000 paint dispensers

in India. These are used at hardware

shops by the paint companies mainly

for architectural applications. “The

cost of ownership of the dispenser is

the lowest among our competitors.

We also have a sister company, a joint

venture with a French firm, known as

Fillon Technologies, which caters to

Auto-Refinishing industry. Volume-

wise, refinishing is almost the same

business as OEM paint business. We

provide Mixing Systems for this sector

and hold 100 percent market share.

Our customers include all refinish

paint manufacturers like BASF, PPG,

AkzoNobel, Nippon and others,” Gupte

added.

VC Gupte